Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-04-01
THE BABY.
A Series OF Letters from Marion Har-
land to Those Who are the Mothers
OF Immortal Beings.
Fapa as Bsby-Tender-Mr. Tetterby' 8
Defnition-Some Fathers and some
Other Fathers.
BY MARION HARLAND.

owe are all sons of Mas, my dear"
said Mr.. Tetterby-'jointly with pas"
The uumythological husbands amend
ment te his spOUse's statement was per-
tinent, according to his comprehension of
I her boast Because her baby is herself,
bone Of her bone, flesh of her frsb, heart
Of her heart, mamma Overlooks the fact
that the treasure is neld in Co-partner-
snip. Some fathers good naturedly let the
case go by default; others maintain a
sort of prOpriety right by stated visits 20
the nursery early in the tenants life, and
by giving q casting vote afterWard when
an important issue arises. The mate can
handle the craft in lair weather, but when
the barometer falls fast, the captain ap-
pears on the bridge. More freque tly
the duty of discipline il reIegated 10 the
mother, and we may remark, very sensI-
bly,. A mans hand is heavy, and ne Sell
dom has the patience with ilfantlle INSIDE
meauOrs that his wife, used to such,
learns TO exercise in the management of
her brood.
By the time q child is seven years old,
he should have OutgrOWn the need Of
corporal punishment-if it ever existed.
Up to that age, his mother is more cap
dUAC VI JuuSIuS auu SC1AGClIuS AIIi
than the sterner parent, who brings to
bear on the case the semj-martial Iaw by
which Counting-rOOm, office aud ware
house ere governed. Moreover, men
seldom have their tempers under
perfect control, and as they con
fess, fud it difficult to punish
in cold blood. They do not Chastise con
amOre, but with.vi4Or disprOp0rlionate to
onH ba+
thy hand finds to 40, do it with thy
might" is an excellent rule in general
practice When the abstract case is a
naughty DaOy, the eXecUtiOner muscular
father, humanity pleads for an exception.
The mother, shuddering as if every stripe
fell on her naked heart, tempers Justice
with meTcy-as she should! Better spoil
a child {. little than 10 write undue sever
ity OF treatment upon his memory in let
tiers of blood that can never be erased.
The business of dressing, feeding and
otherwise caring for baby's personal
needs, devCIVes of course upon the
mother. There are men Of womanly
sympathies and def fingers who not only
"lend hand" in domestic emergencies,
but acquire kill and deXterity IN the dis
charge Of the duty. The majority leave
the performance of ii where it belongs,
CHASING baby-tending with the essentially
feminine occupations in which the other
sex may not dabble without mourning the
imputation of sold Bettyism" and
Molly cOdling" When eSsayed by
masculine ineXperienCe. the results are
occasionally disastrous, usually IudiCrOus.
The young wife Of q country clergyman
left her sleeping child in her hus bands
care while she went to neighbOring viii
lage on an errand. In her absence a
party Of old friends called and asked TO
see the baby. The proud papa ran up
stairs, dug the sleeping Cherub out Of the
blankets and bassinet, and, deciding that
the slip it wore was hardly presentable,
sought IN tie bureau drawers for another,
selecting as flttest the christening robe
laid away in lavender by the mother.
This the amateur firing man dragged on
over the sOiled frOck, hind side before,
fastened it front with large safety pins,
tied on lace cap upside down, bound
broad ribbon sash about the waist of the
infant, who was too much astOnished to
whimper, and bore it in triumph, half
effaced and wholly distlgured, TO the *
peCtant visitors. Such g monument TO
zeal without knowledge would be con-
vulsively funny, but for the inseparajle
pathetic touch.
Yet more absurd was the spectacle pre-
sented by twO-year-Old gIrl whom Ter
father dressed unaided, when her motier
was i'll. He brought her to the breakfast
table, her frock wrong SIDE out, andthe
upper part of her body lndescribably Tuf-
fled in pair of drawers he had mistaken
for al apron. Her arms were lost in tie
legs, one band was made fast about L1r
neck, the other secured as tOO-brief hlt
at the waist. "It did not look quite right
10 mel" the poor fellow responded to he
roar OF laughter which greeted him, "tut
h w was to know?" How, indeed, in
the steady grind of the mill that may urn
out fortune and must give out daily bead
for the wife and the bairEs:"
Ii the elective principle holds good ay-
where it should In the appointment of
work, all Of which cannot be done by tue
person. OGly do not let the man Of msly
cares and affairs make the Sanford aid
Merton Tommy's mistake in fgnCyhg
that the short end of the pole on which
the burden hangs is the lighter for tie
bearer. His wife may appreciate the
chafe C1d weight # his load. In his most
cOnsiderata mood ne cannot ove--ate the
never-endingness incident upon the }
mothers office, the persistency of her |
responsibilities.
At the risk OF Wearying you with |
"sketches from life by cur own artist" |
let me illustrate this point. When q /
school girl l attende! the marriage of The !
prettiest woman l knew to the man of /
her choice. She hadbeen a petted belle |
from childhood, and L had won her from ,
host Of competitors} Three years after |
the wedding day, pity of US young |
people strolling home Ne summer night !
after a moonlight sail pssed fashionable |
cafe. Four or five Len were seated /
within, smoking and shattIng, among /.
them the husband of thu whilom belle
handsome, gay and cJlfort1ble, with
cigar in mouth and a glass of
golden sherry-cobbler llttering with
ice, beside him. Ten mintes' walk took
Us bg his tasteful cottage lome. The up
per windows were open - ldish wallings
broke the midnight hushk 4 the street.
Between the curtains drss * back 70 ad-
NIT the air, we could feX %be wife and
mother, sickly baby OF g3teen months
on one arm, q well babyif three months
on the 0ther-pacing IN chamber floor.
She was wan, large eyE, haggard, her
slender form bent undelher load, but as
she tottered back and 10Th she tried to .
sing g nursery dittY. l"The old, old 4
story!" said our chapTone, a blunt /
tongued splnster.
Grateful variations OF b. sold story"
goodIy contrasts to the Tcture are given /
by fathers, young and m3dle aged, who /
cheerfully share the motnV's vigils; offr